USODA Worlds Team wins St. Thomas International Optimist Team Race Regatta
by Sail1Design 17 Jun 2018 20:17 BST
International Optimist Team Race Regatta © Mattias Cappizzano
Coached by Pilo Rocha, the 2018 USODA Worlds Team of Stephan Baker, Peter Foley, Ryan Satterberg, Thommie Grit, and Tommy Sitzmann just topped 12 other teams and won the Team Race portion of the International Optimist Regatta, held in St. Thomas, USVI.
International Optimist team race regattas are four-on-four events (whereas high school and college team racing is three-on-three). The course is usually a "digital-N" (see diagram) and this regatta was the first chance for the US World team to work together. With five sailors, they have the ability to try different combinations, and all five Team USA sailors sailed in this event to help secure the win.
The TOTE Maritime International Optimist Regatta Team Race in St. Thomas, USVI was comprised of thirteen teams of five sailors. As the wind picked up to 8-12 knots the weather became perfect for team racing, which was aided by flat water in making it a great day. In a close race, the 2018 IOR Team Race Championship Title came down to a best of three races between two USA teams - USA World Team (Stephan Baker, Peter Foley, Thommie Grit, Ryan Satterberg and Tommy Sitzmann) and Team Invisacrox (Nico Garcia-Castrillon, Spencer Dominguez, Kevin Gosselin, Truman Rogers, Kurt Stuebe).
The USA World Team clinched the title, giving the United States wins for three consecutive years. "The team worked well together with good communication during each leg of the races. This is the first time these sailors raced as a team." USA World's Coach, Pilo Rocha of Lauderdale YC said, "I was pleased with their performance and I look forward to working with them as they train for The 2018 World Optimist Championship in Limassol, Cyprus."
Conditions so far in St. Thomas have been outstanding, and the fleet racing portion of the event is set to begin Friday, June 15.
1st Place: USA World 1
2nd Place: Invisicrox
3rd Place: ISV1
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